MISSISSAUGA, ON, June 20, 2014 /CNW/ - Millions of unique footprints from all over the world will descend upon Toronto to celebrate WorldPride 2014, making it one of the most widely attended and supported LGBTQI festivals in the city's history. To celebrate the significance of this year's Pride celebration, long time festival partner and LGBTQI community supporter, Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, will capture the unique footprints of #WPTO14 festival revelers, trans* performers, community members and activists at festival events that will be imprinted on a giant 800 square foot flag to be carried by more than 50 brand ambassadors during the festival parade.

The original Barefoot brand ambassador, Randy Arnold, an energetic and vibrant LGBTQI community hero, has inspired the global team of Barefoot ambassadors (called 'Barefooters') who represent the brand at 250 Pride celebrations around the world, to unite for the first time at WorldPride in Toronto.

"WorldPride provides an unprecedented opportunity for Barefoot Wine & Bubbly to celebrate our brand's global philanthropic efforts and the LGBTQI community support we have provided for the past 24 years," says Arnold. "Since 1990, Barefoot has proudly waved a flag of support for LGBTQI causes, so creating a WorldPride Barefoot flag at this historic event in Toronto is hugely symbolic. It will be an honour for our team of global ambassadors to carry it on parade day, celebrating the great strides that Pride initiatives continue to make on behalf of the LGBTQI community."

To crowd-source the historic 800 square foot parade flag, Barefoot Wine & Bubbly will activate a unique flag creation station where WorldPride revelers and trans* community members can leave a footprint that will be captured digitally and screened to a master graphic that will be printed on the flag inspired by the iconic LGBTQI rainbow image.

The global team of Barefooters invites festival-goers to make their footprint beginning at WorldPride Opening Ceremonies on June 20th until the morning of Saturday, June 28th when flag printing and production will commence to ready the monumental flag for parade day. Revelers can continue to make their footprints through the remainder of the festival contributing to Barefoot's digital flag on Facebook, as well as share on their personal social networks to commemorate the WorldPride celebration.

Barefoot Wine & Bubbly will be served, sampled and sold at a variety of festival events where wine lovers will also have a chance to try the brand's newly launched Barefoot Refresh range of wines, including:

WorldPride 2014 Opening Ceremonies: June 20th

WorldPride Gala: June 25th

All official WorldPride beverage gardens

A full list of Barefoot festival events and real time updates on the making of the brand's historic WorldPride flag will be posted and shared on Facebook.com/BarefootWine and on Twitter @BarefootWineCA throughout the festival.

Barefoot Wine & Bubbly's philanthropic mission first began in 1990 when Randy Arnold, one of the first openly gay men within the wine industry, began his mission to make the world a better place through wine. Hired as the first 'Barefooter,' Randy set out to support his LGBTQI community– one glass at a time. Ultimately this inspired the brand's unique marketing platform and ongoing commitment to LGBTQI causes, which has grown to include 250 Pride events globally.

"Barefoot's support of the LGBTQI community stems from my real life experiences as a gay man. I saw how we were being marginalized as a group and knew that I had to do something to help, " says Arnold. "By donating wine and pouring at events, we took a step forward to support LGBTQI organizations, allowing them to continue their advocacy, raise funds for initiatives and enjoy great-tasting wine at the same time."

Barefoot pours more than 500,000 glasses of wine annually at LGBTQI events across North America. The brand continues to assist over 200 LGBTQI non-profits and support over 250 Pride events worldwide. Arnold's courageous efforts to affiliate the Barefoot brand with LGBTQI causes, a practice the brand calls "worthy cause marketing," has resulted in Barefoot's alliances with many non-profit organizations, including its long standing relationship with Toronto Pride.

About Barefoot Wine & Bubbly:Barefoot Wines are the most awarded California wines, and one of the most popular wine brands in North America. Crafted by experienced and award-winning winemaker, Jennifer Wall, Barefoot Wines are created from grapes sourced throughout California. Easily recognizable with its iconic and colourful footprint label, the wines are fun, flavourful, affordable, and add great taste to any occasion! Barefoot Wines retail for approximately $10 to $12 and are available nationwide across Canada.

About WorldPride Toronto 2014:Pride Torontoexists to celebrate the history, courage, diversity and future of Toronto's LGBTTIQQ2SA** communities. The mission of WorldPride 2014 Toronto is to hold an international celebration incorporating activism, education, and the history and culture of global LGBTTIQQ2SA** communities. It will highlight Canada's continued progress in human rights, and the diversity of Toronto.

Trans* is an umbrella term that refers to all of the identities within the gender identity spectrum. It includes, but is not limited to, those community members who identify as transgender, transsexual, Intersex, third gender, two-spirit, genderqueer, genderfluid, gender independent, transvestite, non-binary, and bigender.**LGBTTIQQ2SA is an abbreviation used to represent a broad array of identities such as, but not limited to, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender, intersex, queer, questioning, two-spirited, and allies.

Image with caption: "Barefoot Wine & Bubbly's Pride Story began with one man's passion. Today, the brand supports 250 Pride festivals across the globe, and will commemorate WorldPride Toronto 2014 by capturing the unique footprints of an
historic celebration. (CNW Group/Barefoot Wine & Bubbly)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20140620_C3406_PHOTO_EN_3805.jpg